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How to Make a Homemade Compost Bin From a Trash Can

compost bin from plastic garbage can dustbin
A black trash can can make a great compost bin.
 Buy on Amazon: Rubbermaid Brute Heavy-Duty Trash/Garbage Can, 32 Gallon 

There are hundreds of compost bins for sale online and in stores, but they all share the same two problems: size and price. For those of us with large gardens, most retail compost bins are either too small or too expensive.

Being the frugal gardener that I am, I sought a better way – after all, compost will break down in any number of containers. The stirring mechanisms in retail versions are a great idea, easy to use and speed the breakdown, but are they worth the price?

The zero-cost solution if you have the room, is to make a cold compost pile: throw your table scraps and yard waste in a big pile at the edge of your yard and let it break down. If you don’t want to attract more critters than necessary, don’t add food scraps, just yard waste. This is called cold composting. To get the pile to heat up a little more, surround it with bales of hay which will break down and add additional organic material to your pile. You can also trench compost – dig a trench in a fallow garden bed and add table scraps and yard waste directly into the soil.

The next best solution is to make an inexpensive DIY compost bin from a plastic garbage can (dustbin), available at any hardware store.

What you need to build a homemade compost bin

  • Large black plastic trash can
  • ½” drill bit with a power drill
  • Two bungee cords
  • Bricks or wood blocks

Air circulation is critical to composting, so the trash can/compost bin needs holes – without them, the odor will be unbearable and the compost won’t break down correctly. With a 1/2″ drill bit, create 6 evenly spaced holes around the top of the can and 6 evenly spaced holes in the bottom for drainage. The holes in the lid allow rainwater in and air to flow through the pile. Oxygen encourages aerobic bacteria to go to work on your compost, which will keep it odor-free and speed the breakdown.

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You’ll also need two bungee cords: one to hold the can’s lid on securely and one to tie the bin to a stationary object (like a porch railing) so it won’t blow away in a storm. Chasing a compost bin across your neighbor’s lawn in a thunderstorm while the can is spilling its ingredients is not a good look for you (not that it happened to me…).

Finally, raise your bin off the ground by placing it on a few bricks (or something similar) so that air can get under your compost and so that it can properly drain through the holes you drilled. If you like, you can place a receptacle under your bin to catch the fluid that drains out. Note that this fluid is not a proper “compost tea” and should not be added directly to your garden.

Congratulations. You now have a DIY compost bin from a simple plastic trash can.

Give your compost a weekly stir

When you want to stir your compost, take the can off the bricks, keep the lid intact with the bungee cords, and give it a few rolls on the lawn. Stir it once a week to get oxygen into the mix to avoid a buildup of bacteria that may make the compost smell foul. An unpleasant odor indicates that either your carbon to nitrogen ratio (brown material to green material) is out of whack, or it’s too wet. Let the pile air out for a day or two and if it’s still smelly, then you have too much green stuff (nitrogen). Add more brown material like shredded dry leaves, shredded cardboard, shredded black and white newspaper chopped, dried corn stalks, or chopped, dried sunflower stalks. Stir the compost after adding the new material and the smell should go away in a day or two.

18 thoughts on “How to Make a Homemade Compost Bin From a Trash Can”

  1. I’m using an old roll around trash bin it one day I found enough things to fill it half way up so far… drilling holes in it today

  2. I love this idea but you have not said how large the can should be. Ten dollars sounds cheap for the size of the can pictured. I am not in the US but a garbage can of 30 gallons would cost a bit more than $30. We are two people and the garden is a fairly small one with raised beds. The total area of gardening equals less than 2,000 feet. I also wonder about my ability to turn over and roll a very large can. I am 74 and my husband is 63.

    1. Jan:
      When I wrote this post a standard garbage can of that size at big box stores here in the U.S. was about $10. Of course, prices vary and may be more where you live. If your garden is small, that size can will be sufficient for your needs. I would get two: one for holding yard waste and one for the actual composting. That way you won’t have to disturb the composting in progress with new, raw materials and can just let it “cook”.
      However, at 74 you may have difficulty rolling or turning the can – some I know have no problem with it and some can’t do it, it all depends on your health. The more expensive ones that tumble may be a safer play for you.

  3. i’m wondering if i started a compost bin using this method do i stop adding stuff at a certain point to allow it to turn into soil and have a back-up compost bin in the meantime? i’m very very new to this so i just dont understand i guess how to put this into action. thanks for any help anyone has to offer! 🙂

    1. Melly:
      Your assumption is correct. It depends on how much compost you need, which would depend on the size of your garden. Many people use multiple bins – one for “cooking”, one for holding ingredients for the next cook, and one with finished compost. If you have a small garden, you can usually get away with one bin – fill it to the top with your ingredients and then let it “cook” for a couple of months – just remember to stir frequently.

  4. I love your video, you porevd how simple it is…..question, can you compost in winter? I live in Michigan.

    1. Catherine:
      Yes, you can compost year-round. Of course, not much progress occurs in winter, but once the outdoor temps start to heat up, your pile is ready to go.

  5. I am all about it! However, Hubby fell off the bandwagon when he found maggots in the compost box and dry heaved into the bushes for five minutes. True story. Sorry so vivid.

  6. Our city has recently begun a compost campaign by collecting
    food scraps with our yard debris, and all households have been issued a standard compost caddy to collect our table scraps. The program is still in its infancy, and meat scraps are included in the mix – a concern for those of us who are already familiar with composting. It is great that the city is taking strides to a greener environment, but we will be picking up compostable bags to hold our meat scraps because like you posted, the smell may attract pests.

  7. I’ve been composting for forty years and here is my method. Get a good shredder (I am using a bearcat presently) Keep a small flock of chickens in an enclosed area. Throw your shredded vegetable material in with the chickens. The vegetable material balances the chicken manure so there is no smell from either the composting material or the chickens. The chickens continually turn the shredded material. As the material turns back to dirt it settles under the newer material. Periodically remove the bottom dirt material and put it in compost containers (the earth machine is my favorite) since the material has gone through it’s heat you can add worms into the container. The worms finish the composting process and create a super soil. The last thing I do is run the material through a screen. The larger material is returned to the shredder and the process is repeated. The plant roots are happy now, but don’t forget the plant blooms. Start a small bee hive and your plants will have everything they need to produce healthy food for your family.

    1. James:
      Well, that’s just about the most efficient way of composting I’ve ever seen. If my town allowed a chicken coop in the backyard, I’d certainly be trying that, but alas, it’s a zoning violation.You seem to have it down to a science, to say the least.

  8. Victor Skrzypinski

    As a Newbie, I am always searching online for articles that may help me. Thank you

    1. I’m DYING to compost. Every time I throw something away, I think, I WISH WE COULD COMPOST! But we don’t have a yard, being in a second floor apartment. Some day…

  9. Jason:
    Thanks for the comment-sounds like you’re doing cold composting in a pile? That’s great – just remember to chop everything into small pieces and flip it over once in awhile. I always have a cold pile in the garden, basically a “waiting” pile, as I’m waiting for the stuff in my bin to break down. It’s amazing how long full length corn stalks and sunflower stalks will remain unchanged. Yet when I chop them down and put them in the bin, they’re gone in a few weeks.
    Also for the winter, I would suggest covering your pile with a clear plastic tarp so that the snow and rain don’t leach too many nutrients. The clear tarp will let the sun’s UV rays through, which will keep your pile a little warmer to help break things down a bit faster. The fermentation can drop to practically zero in the winter due to the cold temperatures. Bacteria love warmth (but not hot heat)!

  10. Great post on composting. I’ve been enjoying watching the yard waste I normally had to fill trash bins with and send to the dump shrink up in my yard. Still waiting for it to become nutrient rich soil.

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